Sahara Sound:
Macs Power Creative Oasis
Top London studio Sahara Sound supplies recording, mixing and mastering facilities to some of the luminaries of the music world. It also makes clever and copious use of Apple technology.
Sahara Sound’s Studio One boasts an 80-channel SSL K9000 XL mixing console, one of only four in the UK. Audio Processing is controlled by a dual processor Power Mac in conjunction with the Pro Tools hardware.
In a world filled with polished chrome surfaces and austere leather armchairs, Sahara Sound is like an oasis in the desert. But don’t be fooled by the mirrored cushions, hookahs and carved wooden screens — this is a serious production facility boasting an impressive list of clients and a staggering array of digital technology — and the whole facility relies on Apple hardware and software. Producer Seth Mowshowitz explains: “The full integration of the laptops, the desktops, the wireless network and the .Mac accounts are what makes our workflow possible”.
“There was no question that we’d use anything else. You have the professional software you need on the Mac — it’s an industry standard.”
Sahara was designed from the ground up by legendary acoustic designer Neil Grant, and opened its doors for business in May 2004. Before too long, the studio’s reputation took off, and it can now count Busted, Duran Duran, Pet Shop Boys, Stereophonics, Sugarbabes and Travis among its many clients.
Chief engineer Javier Weyler explains: “This space has been a music studio for years, but it was purchased by Nomadic Music in 2001 and Nomadic’s owner, Al Zawawi, launched it as an independent facility last year”.
Deciding to kit out the studio with Apple technology was, according to Javier, a “no-brainer”. “There was no question that we’d use anything else. You have the professional software you need on the Mac — it’s an industry standard. No one who is serious about the music business works with PCs (except perhaps for composing). Although I must admit, we do have one rather lonely PC, which we keep in the corner and occassionally use for accounts. All round, the Mac is a sturdier machine, easier to troubleshoot and more solid to work with”.
Sahara’s director Daniel Robert adds: “Macs are easier to use and more reliable but, more importantly, they strike the perfect balance between productivity and fun”.
The studio runs both industry-standard software packages — Digidesign’s Pro Tools and Apple’s Logic Pro. “We have to offer clients both”, says Javier. “Producers and musicians tend to arrive with Logic files, while engineers often bring in Pro Tools. Logic is probably a more creative tool, but it’s also developing its engineering side. It was great news to hear that Emagic had been purchased by Apple because, I believe, they have already developed Logic into a more complete package”.
“The MIDI tools in Logic Pro are fantastic — they’re really immediate. Once you’ve set up your environment, it’s very straightforward to operate — just the click of a button to auto-load your session. The virtual instruments are awesome. It’s getting to the point where all you need is the software — you have so many virtual instruments and drum machines inside the package. The options are endless”.
“The MIDI tools in Logic Pro are fantastic. The virtual instruments are awesome. It’s getting to the point where all you need is the software.”
Although Sahara relies heavily on its desktop Macs for recording and mixing, the more creative work is usually done on laptops, which give the team more flexibility. Most of the staff have their own Apple notebooks, and there are usually three PowerBook G4s and between three and five iBooks scattered around the facility on any given day — all networked via AirPort. Seth Mowshowitz explains: “There are two main AirPort Extreme Base Stations with one remote station attached to each of those — four in total. Almost all our Macs are equipped with an AirPort card, most of them Extreme”.
Javier adds: “The main reason we use laptops is to get the most out of the wireless network. Wherever we are in the building, we can work, browse the Internet, access emails, have meetings — all without having to be wired up to a network. The other reason for having Apple laptops is they just look so damn good!”
As far as file sharing is concerned, the Sahara team make liberal use of iChat. Seth says: “We use it to send audio, text, applications and other small files since we’re all using it to communicate anyway. For any really large files, we tend to use either an iPod or a laptop booted up in FireWire mode.”
Sahara’s Erik Aldrey and Seth Mowshowitz working in Studio One.
iCal is another Apple tool that features prominently in the day-to-day running of the facility, as does iTunes. “We use iCal for all our scheduling, and running it with iSync tells us what bookings are happening where so that we don’t double-book anything”, says Javier. “As for iTunes, if we’ve been working on a session and the producer wants to take it home to see how it sounds later, we just copy it with iTunes. It’s such a handy tool.”
In a more general sense, Apple technology contributes to the unique atmosphere at Sahara. “It’s all about the vibe”, concludes Javier. “It’s about creating the right relationship between the producer, the engineer and the artists. And Apple helps us do that”.
